A Tribal's Tale
by tpj.kevin
Summary: A take on how Sulik ended up in Klamath


A Tribal's Tale  
  
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit story. No financial gain should be derived from its distribution. All trademarks and characters are copyrighted to BlackIsle Studios and Interplay Productions   
  
This is a short story about how Sulik became in debt to Ardin Buckner.  
  
The bone-nosed tribal slung his spear over his shoulder as he trudged off the junk filled seawater and onto the dry welcoming sand . He laid down his catch , three cod and two haddock fishes. The season was quite bad, his bone spirit told him. Sulik drew his knees up as he sighed in frustration over the lack of fish during the autumn months. He was the designated fisherman for his tribe, who was kind of a pacifist yet strong to defend their honor. They claimed descent from a group of military personnel who sought refuge at Fort Bragg's nearest Vault. Though the records had faded , as well as the knowledge of the whereabouts of the now crumbled hillside Vault, the people of his tribe took great pride of this lore which was told from the elders to the youngest child. It provided them with the sustenance to carry on with the peaceful lives. Still, to ensure the survival of a community, you need food first and foremost and fish was one staple food. Sulik had gotten the unenviable job of being the leader of the fishing team, which he actually enjoyed. His parents used to bring him to the sea for long walks, like all tribal parents do. Well, that was before they were killed by slavers while resisting the kidnapping of his youngest sister. The strong hatred he had for slavers and their like grew from that incident. Again, he sighed. Then, deciding he had enough of reminiscences, he gathered up all his stuff and prepared for the long trek back to the village, about a day's walk. He carefully salted the fish and placed them in a woven sack , covering them with a piece of leather cloth. He then gathered up his sledgehammer, folded its wooden stock and placed it in to the sack too. Finally, he took his leather jacket off from a nearby tree branch and put it on, placing a knife in the inner pocket, with some healing powder. The jacket was his most treasured possession, having traded five spears, which he had wrought, for it. It kept him safe while travelling and it kept him warm when he faced the Great Salt Water.  
  
Muttering to himself, Sulik came across a half dead man, lying beside a heavy rockfall. Grampy Bone told him that the rockfall was not a natural phenomenon. He bent down to help the poor hermit, whose leg was caught under a giant boulder. Groaning in pain, the poor hermit signaled him to come closer. Then he withdrew a yellow keycard with a strange symbol emblazoned on it.   
" Kind sir, trouble has befallen this area. Some evil warriors engineered this rockfall with an explosive substance . They came from bellies of flying creatures and wiped out my home. I survived because I hid among the wreckage. My life is ebbing away, do not worry about me. Please heed my advice, do not go……ah…ahem….ead…"  
Sulik took a long hard look at the card, he did not know what to make of it. After a long decision, he decided to go back towards his village, regardless of the old hermit's words. After nearly a long day out in the wasteland and tarmac-encrusted footpaths, he felt weary and the fish were beginning to smell delicious. He badly wanted to get home to his sister Sarleff and his love, Myesha. The familiar trail he walked on looked the same as on any other day, except that he saw signs of foliage being torn and trodden upon. Grampy Bone gave him an ominous warning, there was death ahead. Death. The thought of it made him take off at the fastest speed possible. He ran and ran , his spear and sack flailing in the wind. What greeted him at the village chilled his very bones. The wooden palisades were riddled and charred . Bloodstains virtually enveloped the ground on which he stood . Grampy Bone's words echoed, "Taken, all taken". He was pretty sure it was slavers, albeit on a larger scale. Suddenly, out of the corner of his wet eyes, he saw a slight movement. He unshouldered his spear and moved stealthily. It was the border guard, Hoss. He was bleeding profusely and croaked something barely audible.  
"Sulik, the spirits be with you fren. Great beasts came, bearin evil men. Men took our women and children. Your sister and Myesha were taken , they were all taken…..Great lights be burnin' through our best warriors fren. They burn …….burn……" Hoss exerted his last and collapsed. Sulik gradually realized the enormity of the situation . The whole tribe was either killed or kidnapped. He felt like a total failure, failing to take care of his sister, never mind Myesha. All he had ever known, his life was gone . He let out an extremely loud anguished yell and just sat there in the pouring rain, feeling very confused about what he was going to do. The sleepiness slowly overcame him and he fell into a fitful sleep.   
  
Dawn came and he awoke with a start. He had become clearer while sleeping off his rage and anguish. There was only one place he could go to , The Den. Still, he figured that it would be better to take a trip down to Klamath to glean some clues. He easily remembered the lessons Hoss had taught him about putting together an ambush or preparing a trap. At least his sister wasn't dead , he told himself. Klamath was ten days away on foot. He waited for the regular caravan to arrive, explained his predicament and signed on as a guard to pay for his passage. The trip was shortened to seven days, due to brahmin-powered wagons. It was uneventful and he arrived in Klamath during nightfall. The reception he got in Klamath was very cold and stony, except for a friendly trader named Vic, who owned a ramshackle shop trading in pre-war trinkets. Sulik chatted him up and Vic told him of The Den, and about Metzger. They went into the Golden Gecko to have a few drinks. After being told of Metzger's exploits, Sulik's anger got the better of him and he started throwing tables all around and smashing bottles of booze. Vic tried to calm him down but a drunken tribal is as hard to calm down as a radscorpion in pain. The bill he ran up was $300. He couldn't leave Klamath without paying the bartender off. Now he was seething at the time he would lose , but he tried to keep his temper in check. In the morning, he swallowed his pride and went over to the Buckners' for a job. Vic had left without a word and was presumed missing.  
  
"Sulik, eh. You look like a strong one, why don't you help us out with the deliveries. You could save up to pay off that debt and we could use an extra hand , after Smiley's disappearance and all." Ardin replied. "The pay's 20 bucks a day. Oh , wait a minute will you, there's a customer at the door!" Sulik placed his meager belongings in the back room and proceeded to start work when he saw someone walk in. Grampy Bone told him there was something special about this guy. He was dressed in a blue/yellow jumpsuit, which looked very advanced. Strapped to his back was a sleek brown haversack and, his wrist wore something like the keycard the hermit had given him, except this had a shiny square in the middle of it. The guy walked up to Sulik, and looked up  
  
"What can we and I do you for?" Sulik asked. They chatted awhile and he bought a few stimpaks from Ardin. He overheard his name being mentioned in the exchange. Turning around, the guy took out a bag of money and gave it to the Buckners, shook their hands and went back over to Sulik.  
  
" You wanna join me on my travels?" queried the Chosen One.  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
